GOTA SHEDDO

Tessa... Oh dear Tessa... the girl who is supporting me in our Cristine's absence is nice but giving me a lot of tension... there comes her message ... ma'am coming today evening... after an hour... ok ma'am tomorrow afternoon... and maam's head turns into a hot furnace.... This home has two men... one of whom does not even understand that the mother is in a soup... entirely the mother's fault... this is not a wise mother! An inevitable comparison gets unavoidable.... Ipsita's 14 years old son cleans and cuts banana blossoms too for her... he likes authentic Bengali food so much so that S aunty makes it a point to send him whenever she goes traditional and authentic... and asks for a feedback... he is a good cook in making I may tell you... the monkey at this home will not even take his fork and spoon from the kitchen... the not  that much of a Bengali uses spoon and fork for a hilsa... a severe insult to the silver queen.... but you cannot do anything... here is an indulgent mother who spoilt her monkey... 

Amidst such a mess.... the husband who was on leave yesterday adds fuel to the hot furnace.... in his noble wish to help his loving wife he overloads the washing machine with shirts without opening the buttons, mixed white stuffs with coloured ones and I do not even know how much of detergent he added or how he had set the timer! The wife got on her nerves and screamed ..... you will not walk beyond the kitchen door ... Coming back home after a week, he did not really expect or deserved such a treatment... My readers know I do not like anyone poking in my way of managing home.... either you take my instructions or you stay away... Anyway, we made up everything over two cups of evening tea and some store bought chicken popcorns.... Yes, I can have chicken as small bites, in tikkis and in Oriental preparations... batter fry... toss in some sauce ... add some chopped spring onions and yum... such shares can wait... there are better people for this... Let me go ahead with a healthy, authentic Bengali one today as this GOTA SHEDDO! This recipe calls for a dal and few selective vegetables cooked whole.... 

This is not our family recipe as we are from East Bengal [now Bangladesh] and this dish is authentic of West Bengal... I do not always understand the divide as my mother was born in this side of the border... I love 'posto' and do add a bit of sugar to veggie dishes! This is not the actual time for a GOTA SHEDDO .... it is a part of the Saraswati Puja ritual among the people of West Bengal origin! Though it was never made in our family... it used to come from our neighbours a day after Saraswati Puja perhaps... Of all the dishes of GOTA SHEDDO I had.... I loved the one I had at our couple friends' home in Mumbai... the couple I was too willing to speak about.... my way of paying homage to a couple who did what very few can or will do! Meet Partha Dey & Madhuchanda Dey Ghosh.... a perfect example of how one can stay grounded being at the top! There is a Houston connection to this story which is unavoidable or avoiding which will be wrong! A GOTA SHEDDO is not a perfect share talking about all of them .... then the prime focus is on a Chutu / Madhuchanda Dey Ghosh... who played a mother hen to a group of bachelor guys and my husband.... what was my role?... That of a "dhyarosh".... who could do nothing.... mind it we were all in the same age group....

I am God fearing.... though not the excess of it... I am at the liberty to do this GOTA SHEDDO at anytime and I find it to be  a healthy option that can be had with or without rice.... The way I "masalatised" it.... one can have it with rotis too! I really do not know what these two sets of couples eat at present... Does the Houston part eat cured salmon with grilled asparagus? I have to ask.... so far I believe nothing ... not even a Houston environment & weather can make an Amit Bhaduri leave "pathar mangsho and Foster Beer" ever... this Geologist... ex-Presidency & Mumbai IIT pass out cannot get away with his love for mutton.... the big thing is that the person who did not know how to pour a glass of water from a bottle, grills chicken in his backyard... Do not expect anything more from him.... his wife ..... the sister like Ujjayini Bhaduri... is a spoiler like me.... till date I could not understand why this girl.... a Clinical Psychologist from the Calcutta University never went to work but dedicated her entire being to build a happy home... she does not love her S didi much but she is a better homemaker than her S didi .... The hospitality I received on my 2009 visit to Houston proves it all.... they themselves were new there then ..... that too after a "rajoshik" life in Mumbai, Libya and Balik Papan .... pampered by 4-5 helps.... Now they seem to be happy there with a daughter.... a year older than our monkey and a younger son! 

This Amit Bhaduri and a wonder called Partha Dey had been friends in school, high school and then stayed together for few years in Mumbai... How does T feature here? Well, Partha was in our school for a year and then shifted to another school.... Somehow T and Partha developed an unbreakable bond ..... and later T did his high school with these two guys.... There are many each year who top from the IITs... not all of them can be a Partha Dey... the first in batch both in IIT and IIM Kolkata sits high up in a ladder... but do not look down at anyone... does he lack self pride? Nope.... he told me once... you know S... I am overly qualified for my job.... this guy is born with a natural talent.... he did not have to acquire anything.... He will not brag around saying that Sundar Pichai was his roommate... who did not gel well with him and eventually changed his room in the second year... A Partha Dey who received my unnecessary calls even when he was in a meeting with the likes of KV Kamath or Chanda Kocchar.... no we are not in a relationship... haha... that high profile person is a ferociously go getter and focussed... else one cannot reach there where only about 100 Indians within India reach! He has a wife... Madhuchanda Dey Ghosh ..... how do I introduce her? Well, she is a born mother.... guardian.... she perhaps used a lipstick and eye-kohl only once or twice in her life ..... on her marriage & reception days.... yet she knows which one is how and gifted me my first Revlon pencil lipstick! She does not touch alcohol but knows about all the flavours of spritzers... she is accommodating to some extent.... Immediately after her marriage she played the mother to the bachelor boys like Amit and gang and as and when my husband visited.... without any irritation.... she is a near perfectionist in whatever she does... 

Each year... some one or the other tops the university and goes abroad on National Scholarship but not all of them can be a Madhuchanda! .... The couple hate it if my husband is in Mumbai and stay put in a hotel... The not at all romantic husband T got stationed at home for 21/2 years as soon as his wife got pregnant.... so you know I selected a good host body for myself! So after 21/2 years of homestay... we were in a soup... besides a Sanak Chottopadhay, a Dibyendu Banerjee or our father .... this couple called Partha and Madhuchanda literally gave shelter to my husband for 3 long months saving him from having vada pao everyday... No this high profile couple do not go to the club or play golf ... they cannot digest food... most of them.... They love to travel... Chutu is attached to a couple of charitable organisations and does not wish to speak about it... They are God fearing... donates and gifted us a book on Sri Aurobindo! I could not repay 1/4 of what they have done for us.... They are blessed with a daughter 11/2 years younger than our monkey! 

Where did Partha inherit his down to the earth nature?... I believe from his mother.... Kakima is a short, frail lady who gave birth to three jewels... yet never boasts of it.... she does not know the meaning of the word bragging! Its more than a year now I have not met her... have to! Partha's big brother stays somewhere there in the other side of the river in the East Coast... that green zone I hear... there... haha... his big sister was our neighbour for a couple of years... if Partha says that his didi was the best in mathematics among the siblings.... she is a jewel too... Chutu does not wear a makeup but walks for 10 hours to reach home in the Mumbai flood.... walks down from level 22 to reach office when the lift does not work... changes five autos on way to the office .... although in a high profile job & owning a personal car! Yet T says Chutu sacrificed her career for a Partha Dey.... she worships her home.... care for the people around!

This space is yet small to speak about people with such persona.... On my month long stay at their Mumbai home two times within a year... I saw how well organised Chutu was when I knew nothing.... I learnt gradually but I have a brother who is still spoon fed.... when he craves for phuchka.... the wife has to go and get it while he watches Formula1.... all because of the mother.... Anyway, I loved Chutu's family recipe of GOTA SHEDDO which has a bit of spices too! It perhaps uses skinned urad dal.... but I used green moong... 

No I am not trying to imitate anyone.... two Bengali bloggers will have some similarities... most of the time I even miss who is posting what.... I see after posting mine.... no way do I regret that.... For a person like me who refuses to think... it is impossible to know the pulse of the readers.... I will post what I have decided for the Day.... and not look here and there! Whoever clicks the link and takes a look at the blog post is my potential customer... haha... I do not earn a penny from my blog... Anyway, I used green moong, medium sized potatoes, spinach, eggplants, sweet potatoes and hyacinth beans.... few spices, green chillies, mustard oil to drizzle.... it does not remain a GOTA SHEDDO right? haha... The tongue is worshipped here!

INGREDIENTS :

Green Moong Bean : 1small cup
Spinach : 3-4stalks [palak]
Sweet Potato : 2-3 [mishti aloo]
Hyacinth Bean : 6-7 [sheem]
Potato : 3-4 medium
Egg Plant : 3-4small

Peas in Pods : 5-6 [I used Snow Peas]
Green Chilli : 2-3 [optional]
Cumin Powder : 1tsp
Red Chilli Powder : 1tsp
Coriander Powder : 1/2tsp
Turmeric Powder : 1/2tsp
Salt : As Required

Sugar : 1 tsp [Optional]
Oil : 2-3tbsp to drizzle on top [mustard oil for us]

PROCEDURE :

Wash and soak the green moong beans in hot water for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Wash the rest of the vegetables thoroughly... specially the roots of the spinach. Though we are not supposed to cut the vegetables.... we can discard the roots of the spinach stalks. I used Thai or Chinese palak / spinach may be!

Add the green lentil along with the water, sweet potatoes, potatoes in a pressure cooker.... add some salt...turmeric!

Close the lid and pressure cook at low heat up to one whistle! Let the lid open naturally.

Take a deep bottomed vessel.... add the snow peas, hyacinth beans, eggplants, green chillies, turmeric and some salt to it. Add 1 coffee mug of water. 

Cover with a lid... keeping it little crack open. Add the cumin, red chilli & coriander powders after some 10-12 minutes!

Slow cook until done! This may take some 15-20 minutes. Check in between... Keep the heat at the lowest.

Towards the end, add the pressure cooked items & the sugar! Give a stir & cook for 2-3 minutes! Switch off the gas stove!

Once done transfer the entire content to a serving bowl and drizzle with some mustard oil.

Enjoy with or without rice! The two other dishes are Paratha & crisp Okra!